South Shropshire caravan site approved despite traffic fears

A holiday site for up to 40 caravans will replace a nurseries business in south Shropshire, despite concerns the access road is “an accident waiting to happen”.

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The plans to transform the Burford Nurseries near Burford and Tenbury Wells were approved by councillors this week, albeit with a “proviso” that measures to allow safe access to the site are investigated.

The existing garden centre and polytunnels will now be demolished, and a site for 40 static caravans created in its place.

Councillors at the Shropshire Council South Planning Committee meeting welcomed the plans to bring more tourism to the area, but many raised fears that the existing 60mph speed limit on the A456 to access the caravan park could lead to accidents.

Residents of nearby Burford and Tenbury Wells have warned there have already been fatal crashes in the area in recent years.

The meeting heard from the council’s case officer Andrew Sierakowski that the entrance to the site is about 100 metres from the start of a 40mph speed limit zone.

A number of councillors visited the location in question ahead of the meeting to see traffic first-hand, and Councillor Simon Harris agreed that the current national speed limit would pose a danger.

He said: “With the traffic speeding up and down, there is an accident waiting to happen.”

Councillor Andy Boddington said: “Clearly we need to extend the speed limit area so it is 40mph, or down to 30 which would need a lot of advice from officers.

“We know people break the speed limit but it’s possible to enforce it and it does discourage many drivers from speeding. That is the critical issue with this.”